There are many voices in church circles proclaiming many different things. There’s no end to the church hype, prophetic proclamations, celebrity bombast, personal opinions, ambitious agendas, supernatural claims and super‑spiritual pontificating. But the overwhelming majority of it is either biblically wrong, hopelessly naïve, utter nonsense or outright deception. We’re hearing the voices of self-appointed prophets, mega church gurus and leaders of sensational movements telling us what God is saying but are they truly speaking as the oracles of God? Many ears are being tickled and a lot of distracting noise is being generated but very few are speaking as the oracle of God. But in the midst of all of this clamor and confusion is the “still small voice” of God speaking clearly to those who have ears to hear.
The loudest voices we’ve hearing in church circles are the mass appeal variety which have been urging the multitudes to “COME” ‑ come to our church, embrace our experience, join our spiritual movement, get involved with our program, find your place in our body, be a part of our fellowship and celebrate our gathering together.” However, what the remnant is hearing is another voice altogether. It is the still, small voice of God that can be heard if we have ears to hear. It is not calling us to “come in” but to “COME OUT.” His voice is saying just the opposite of all the other voices. There are many voices saying, "come in" but only a few saying, "come out".
At first this voice was almost imperceptible. It was hard to hear apart from all the clamor and confusion. But His voice is clear and unwavering ‑ even against the distorted background noise of celebrity gurus, self-appointed apostles, self-styled prophets, YouTube wannabes, NAR leaders and Christian hip hop pastors. His voice is growing clearer. He is calling His people to separate themselves from all the nonsense and man‑made confusion we have bought into for so long. He is urging us to distance ourselves from much of what we have made the church into and return to Him and the simplicity of the gospel. He is calling us to decision time.
It is His voice that I have been hearing. For a season I thought I was the only one hearing it and I entertained doubts about what I was hearing. It was a radical departure from churchanity as usual and the party line I had been buying into and propagating for many years. But I have come to learn that more and more of His people around the world have been hearing the same thing. So many different Christians, from so many different cultures with so many different backgrounds all hearing the same voice of God speaking to His church the same things. What confirmation!
It is the voice of the Spirit we are hearing and He is speaking to you too. God is visiting His people and He is calling them out of all the man‑made garbage we have turned Christianity into. He is calling us out of the fad driven, hype driven, formula driven, program driven, celebrity driven, performance driven, prosperity driven, “event” driven, ego driven, entertainment driven and gimmick driven church. He’s calling His people out of the mind set of “churchanity”. He is calling His people out. He’s calling us back to Him and to our first love. He is saying, “come out from among her my people” and “come unto me.”
This is the challenge that is going forth for all who have an ear to hear. This is the voice of God that you may be hearing. This is the quiet move of God that is taking place under the church radar. Can you hear it? He’s calling His remnant of good and faithful servants. If you are hearing this call then you have been called for such a time as this!
Comments